Mail-in voting is a must
Re: the April 25 Local Opinion “The left’s all-mail voting fantasy must be put to rest.”
Despite Mr. Eppihimer’s claims that voting by mail is not the answer, the truth is exactly the opposite.
In April, a 60-year-old poll worker in Chicago died from the coronavirus. Because the Wisconsin Supreme Court refused to delay the recent vote in that state, seven voters in Wisconsin caught the virus, despite the fact that most people were wearing masks and maintaining proper distances. That is the reason mail-in voting (with no excuses necessary) should be mandatory in every state.
Standing in line to vote is not the same as going to the grocery store simply due to the fact that going to the grocery store does not involve standing in line for extended periods of time. The most recent example of ballot harvesting fraud was actually committed by a Republican strategist (Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr.) in North Carolina in February of last year.
Sorry, Mr. Eppihimer, your arguments do not make sense.
Thomas Brennan
Southwest side
Larger nonprofits need relief, too
There’s no shortage of examples of Arizonans helping each other during the pandemic. A Tucson business sews masks as fast as they can, offering them for free or for purchase to support their efforts. This charitable spirit will help Arizona recover.
As leaders address COVID-19’s impact, I hope they remember the nonprofits that have been so critical to Arizona’s health. Many charitable organizations took a devastating financial hit, including one very important to me: the American Cancer Society. After my thyroid cancer diagnosis, the ACS provided information treatment options.
Now the ACS needs our help. As a larger nonprofit, it cannot access much of the relief from the original CARES Act. I urge Sen. Martha McSally to ensure the next stimulus package includes relief for nonprofits with more than 500 employees and further strengthens the charitable giving tax deduction.
Cancer hasn’t stopped, so neither can we. Sen. McSally, help support the ACS and the millions of survivors like me who rely on its services.
Lisa Reynolds
Downtown
Help states reopen safely and save lives
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have received excellent guidance from scientists who work within our public health system. Some, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have joined the administration’s briefings and provided accurate information and advice. Others have worked behind the scenes reviewing data and creating models to analyze disease progression and resource needs. As a retired professor who taught social policy, I’ve been impressed by their effective and helpful work.
It was shocking to read that the Trump administration has refused to distribute a 17-page report from CDC experts on “Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework.” It provides science-based recommendations for the steps states and cities could take as they lift restrictions and reopen facilities.
Suppression of a work designed to protect the public and assist states in carrying out the responsibilities the president has delegated to them is deeply disturbing. Thanks to the courageous official who released a copy. Our communities will be helped and lives may be saved.
Ann Nichols
Foothills
Presnell a shining star
with sports shots
Kudos to Kelly Presnell, Daily Star photographer. Over the past few weeks in the Sports section, I’ve noticed some outstanding photographs of athletes (April 27 and 28, May 5, 6 and 9 to name a few). His composition, lighting and action shots are spectacular. Even before seeing who is attributed to the photo, it’s fairly easy to tell the difference between a Presnell shot and anyone else. So happy to see he’s won Arizona Photographer of the Year in 2019 by the Newspaper Association. Love your stuff!
Brenda Blumentritt
West side
Stop being selfish and wear a mask
Why are there so many people not respecting protocols in place for this deadly coronavirus disease? Do they think they are invincible? Do they not take this deadly disease seriously? Do they not care that they might be carriers without symptoms, only to spread their germs?
Obviously not, because some local businesses don’t require their employees to wear masks. More people than not don’t wear masks! We all need to work together and help each other by wearing masks in public and being respectful. All people are vulnerable to this disease! Don’t think you aren’t.
Karin Militello
Northwest side
Teachers put their lives on the line for students
I am pleased to see your coverage of the herculean efforts local teachers are making to support their students.
I wish more people realized there are thousands of teachers in Tucson as dedicated as Sheree Garcia. However, I was disappointed you buried another aspect of her situation and dedication: that a teacher of 37 years still needs to work a full-time shift at Walmart in order to survive.
Who do you think is paying for all those computers, coloring books and other supplies she is providing? She has undoubtedly already spent hundreds of dollars, and it will probably be more than a thousand before the school year ends. That means she is actually working from 7 a.m. to midnight and putting her life on the line every day in order to survive so she can help her students. I wish all those readers who think teachers make too much money knew just how many teachers have to work at Walmart to survive.
Camille Guice
Northeast side
Carbon fee would help us go green
Re: the May 9 opinion piece “Carbon-tax bill before Congress comes with unacceptable trade-off.”
In a recent column, Barbara Warren correctly lays out the dangers of climate change.
One cannot overstate these dangers. Recent studies show billions of us will be unable to live in future heat zones, just one consequence of soaring past a climate virtually unchanged for 8,000 years until now.
Unfortunately, she attacks a powerful remedy, House Resolution 763, which puts a fee on carbon and rebates these fees monthly to citizens, basically “paying” us to go green. Emissions fall more sharply than by an effective Clear Air Act and EPA, achieving carbon reductions of 90% by 2050.
Yes, it would put the EPA on pause for 10 years. But the EPA has been gutted; no loss there. HR 763 has safety nets, increasing fees if emissions do not fall rapidly enough. It leaves protections against other forms of pollution intact. The EPA and Clear Air Act were “undone” by the unfortunate Trump administration, but try to take away monthly rebates!
Jan Freed
Downtown
Trump, Cuomo haters hurting themselves
Are you in one of these hater camps? This pandemic has thrown the world into chaos, and instead of being supportive and encouraging many have jumped into the hater camps. Social media, ridiculous headlines, talk shows and negative journalism. Put your tiny little feet into the huge shoes of President Trump or Governor Andrew Cuomo, look into a mirror, and be honest.
Could you make the decisions they face? Are their decisions perfect? No, but they are in the trenches fighting the horrific fight. It’s easy to be a negative, loud mouth, arm chair quarterback and pass judgment on what should have or could have been. It’s another thing to try and lead through disasters. By the way, hating is bad for your health, too.
Judy Davidson
Foothills
Make masks mandatory
for sake of everyone
Wearing a mask in the current COVID-19 era should not be a matter of individual choice. The mask is not worn to protect the mask wearer; it is worn to protect other people from being infected by the virus from you. Since anyone can harbor the virus without knowing it, one must always assume that one could be spreading it. Health officials are unanimous in their call for everyone to wear a mask.
Responsible businesses in Arizona are now requiring their employees and their customers to wear masks. Why does Governor Doug Ducey make the wearing of masks voluntary? By doing so, he is allowing some people to jeopardize the health and perhaps even the lives of others. Please correct this awful situation, Gov. Ducey!
To all the businesses out there, please do what the governor hasn’t, require everyone to wear masks in your establishment.
Barry Austin
Foothills
Depose the ‘king’ in November
A fable: Once upon a time, many nations were ruled by kings. They lived in palaces and were surrounded by others, generally family members, called royalty. When the nation faced danger, the king was called upon to lead the fight for his nation. Battles were fought and the king led the troops. He was at the front of forces leading the charge against the enemy. A king generally welcomed this role as it allowed a public display of his courage and leadership.
Today, this nation has a leader who thinks he is a king. We face a battle with a mighty virus that can destroy us. Unfortunately, the “king” has no courage, no competency and no leadership. He sits in his castle and sends his people into battle without the necessary weapons and armor as casualties and deaths increase.
Soon the people will have an opportunity to depose this king and save the country. Let us hope we do so.
Harry Peck
Tubac
We must prioritize
what is important
Get real. Human beings need air, water, food and shelter, without which they will die. Nobody dies from lack of a haircut, or a tattoo or entertainment. The economy does not consist of the stock market, the unemployment rate, or the public pronouncements of government, local, state, or federal officials. The economy is the sum of all transactions: people buying things like food, clothing, energy and toys.
If people cannot go buy things without catching a deadly disease, they will not go. We have food and goods delivery, and people who will deliver them, so all a person needs is the cash on which to live and shelter until the disease is defeated by vaccines and treatments. If unemployed workers are getting government cash, businesses do not need to meet payrolls. The federal government can borrow all the cash needed, pay people and businesses directly, and repay it over 50 years. What we lack is leadership!
David Vernon
East side
Masque of the White House
In 1842, Edgar Allan Poe published “The Masque of the Red Death.” In the story, Prince Prospero and 1,000 of his nobles lock themselves in an abbey to protect themselves from a plague that is devastating the surrounding countryside. Living in luxury and with callous indifference to the death and suffering surrounding them, they revel in their personal security until a mysterious stranger shows up at a masquerade ball with fatal consequences.
Now that the coronavirus has breached the walls of the White House, it is hard not to draw parallels. Let’s just hope, for the sake of the country, that President Trump’s hubris is not as costly as that of Prince Prospero.
Gordon Hamilton
Midtown
